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NHL Picks

NHL Picks: Senators vs. Canadiens Game 5

The Ottawa Senators, who lead the Montreal Canadiens 3-1, have a golden opportunity to close out this first round series on the road tonight when the two teams meet in Game 5 at the Bell Centre in Quebec.

The Senators own
a perfect 7-0 record when leading a playoff series 3-1, but Ottawa hasn’t won
three consecutive postseason games in six years when they last accomplished the
feat during the 2007 NHL campaign.

Most online sportsbooks have pegged Montreal
as slight favorites in this contest, listing them at -125 on the money line.
Alternatively, you have the option of backing Montreal on the puck line, which
NHL odds makers are offering at an extremely generous rate of +250, but the Canadiens will need to
beat the Senators by at least two goals for the puck line wager to pay off.

The games total is coming in at 5 goals for
this matchup, but before you make a decision on the over/under, it is worth
noting that the Senators have typically be involved in low scoring affairs on
the road, as 6 of their last 8 on the highway have fallen short of the posted
number.

Now, lets take a closer look inside both
teams for this crucial Game 5 matchup and determine if it’s Ottawa or Montreal that brings better value for our sports picks tonight.

[gameodds]7/228296/43/us[/gameodds]

The Senators
enter play this evening red-hot on the road, winning five of their last six,
but the home team is a sterling 10-1 in the last 11 head to head meetings.

However, even
though the Canadiens are hosting this contest, one has to think all the
momentum is with Ottawa after tying Game 4 with 22.6 seconds left in regulation
and then winning it in overtime, pushing Montreal to the brink of elimination.

That said, the
Canadiens have beaten the Senators five of the last six at the Bell Centre and
are an impressive 6-1 in their last 7 games played on a Thursday.

Montreal must
do a better job on defense in the 3rd period if they hope to extend
this series. Thus far, the Canadiens have surrendered three goals in Game 1,
four in Game 3 and two more in Game 4. That’s a total of nine goals combined in
the 3rd period of those games.

Prediction

I like the
Senators in this spot playing without pressure and the added stress that comes
on the road. Ottawa also wants to avoid giving Montreal more life, which could
prove to come back and haunt them if the Canadiens push this series to seven
games. However, that won’t happen as I expect the Senators to get the job done and cash in for us and our NHL picks tonight.